Caitlin Clark has responded to Megyn Kelly’s criticism after the inflammatory commentator slammed Clark’s acknowledgment of her white privilege.
The Indiana Fever player was announced as Time magazine’s Athlete of the Year on Tuesday (December 10). During an accompanying interview with the magazine, Clark said the WNBA is “built on” black players and that they need to be highlighted more.
“I want to say I’ve earned everything, but as a white person I have privileges,” she told the publication. “A lot of the players in the league who have been really good have been black players. This league is kind of built on them. The more we can appreciate that, highlight that, talk about that, and then brands and companies continue to invest in the players who have made this league incredible, I think it’s really important.”
The former Fox News host highlighted that quote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) when she accused the basketball player of apologizing for her ethnicity. ‘Look here. She takes a knee but apologizes because she is white and gets attention,” the message said.
“The self-flagellation. The “Oh, please pay attention to the black players who are REALLY the ones you want to celebrate.” Self-righteous. Fake. Transparent. Sad.”
On Wednesday (December 11), Clark attended a Time dinner, with a conversation moderated by NBC Sports anchor Maria Taylor.
Taylor asked the 2024 Rookie of the Year winner about Kelly’s criticism, to which Clark responded: “One of my best skills is just blocking things.
“The only opinions I really care about are the people I love, my teammates, my coaches, the people in our locker room, the people I see every day and who I know have my best interests at heart,” Clark said.
Speaking further about her comments about white privilege, Clark added: “I know what this competition was about… it’s only been about 25 years, and so I know there have been so many amazing black women who have been in this competition have been – and it’s very important to continue to lift them up and that’s something I’m very aware of.”
During another part of her magazine interview, Clark also addressed the rumored rivalry between her and fellow WNBA player Angel Reese.
She explained that even though they are competing against each other, she personally doesn’t consider her a rival.
“I don’t understand that at all,” she said. “We’re definitely not best friends, but we have a lot of respect for each other.”
The Indiana Fever player continued: “Yes, we had some great battles. But when have I ever guarded her? And when did she guard me?’
